Triple Z Threadz Style: live music

SXSW 2017, in Triple Z Fashion

By Matthew Meade

SXSW 2017, in Triple Z Fashion

It’s that wonderful time of year again, folks. Every hotel in the city will be booked just about solid, and many locals are even subject to making a few bucks off of luxury couch placement during this annual festival. Given just about two weeks of comedy, film, music and information, you’ll find it hard to keep up on just where to go. No need to sweat though, we here at Triple Z Threadz always have a few sweet recommendations up our sleeves.

There is never a shortage of quality comedians and filmmakers in town for the event, taking up a majority of the first week of SXSW nightlife. But it’s the following week, the music portion, that dominates the city from dusk til dawn. We suggest grabbing the nearest bad ass, embroidered pearl snap in your closet and heading to a few of these showcases we’ll be attending.

The Continental Club, just down the street from our iconic South Congress location,  will be hosting bands from noon until just about 2am from the 16-18th of March to promote local artists, an excellent place to spot one of our infamous ‘Bowie’ or ‘Snake Lady’ designs. Heading more downtown, though, you’ll be immersed in live music on just about every corner.

Live Sound Stage at Bangers Sausage House on Rainey St. will feature some amazing artists the 15-18th, as well. Whether you catch one of us from the shop at any given concert is purely circumstantial. You will, however, be seeing some ‘DAMN HELL, FUCK SHIT’ embroidered beauties no matter where you end up this SXSW, and we wouldn’t want it any other way.

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Embroidery Made Badass with ZZZ

By Matthew Meade

Embroidery Made Badass with ZZZ

Many folks have gotten to know us here at Triple Z Threadz over the 13+ years that we’ve been around, from our start in the artist markets of South Congress all the way up until we first opened our flagship store in March of 2016. There are always plenty of questions that people ask us, since we are a bit off the cuff from your standard shopping experience. One of the most important of these, however, lies in our bread and butter, the embroidery itself. It’s an important piece of the process to us here at the shop, and it’s the final step to bringing our visions to life before we tag them and put them up for display in the shop (like the beauties they are).

Our embroidery designs all start out as something rather simple, an idea. From there it’s sketched into existence, and then the magic begins to occur. We hand off our end of this deal to our Master Embroiderer Lucas at his shop in South Austin, so that they may soon come to life. All of our threads for our embroideries are eco-friendly, that way you don’t have to choose between that badass pearl snap and that fancy kale salad you’ve been eyeing. From there, he uploads the design into the machines computer, where it begins to take physical shape. After all the kinks have been worked out, it’s time for a test run. We put a shirt into the embroidery machine, tie her down, cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Watching the machine whiz back and forth as it pierces through the shirts fabric with thousands of our threadz, our ideas begin to come to life. After a short time of being mezmerized by the process (liken it to watching bacon sizzle), we have success. Our newest idea child is now a reality, and boy is he perty. Seeing David Bowie’s infamous Alladin Sane silhouhette brazened into a kick ass pearl snap is something special. Something we here at the shop have been looking forward to for quite some time. We just hope you all enjoy it as much, or at least close to as much, as we all do here at the home of the most badass embroidery you ever did lay your eyes on.

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Local Talent, Always on Display

By Matthew Meade

If there is one thing that is not lacking in this great city of Austin, it would have to be the abundance of musical talent that pours into town on a weekly basis. Musicians from near and far all hope to venture to the “Live Music Capitol of the World” to showcase their art and make a name for themselves. I always enjoy a great live set, and if it is teamed up with discovering some new artist who makes my booty shake, even better.

Thankfully for me, working at Triple Z Threadz leaves me in a rather prime location for whenever I’m able to catch a live set or two after closing time. South Congress has a number of historic venues and clubs that embody the whole reason why people love coming to this funky town of ours. So i wandered on up to C-Boys, a bit south of our shop located at 2008 South Congress Ave. After grabbing myself a double shot of whiskey, I make my way into the back to soak up the sprawling patio area they have here.

I’m greeted by a gentleman who’s very soft spoken, very put together and at the same time, appears nervous. His name is Dylan Bishop, and he’s performing next. Based out of the Dallas-Ft.Worth area, Dylan makes his round all over this great state, none more prevalent than his stints around Austin. His style of play could easily be compared to that of the legends Stevie Ray Vaughn, Mercy Baby, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, and Frankie Lee Sims. Him and his simple band setup produce such an abundance of sound and soul, it’s easy to get lost in his sets. Being a young man as well, it’s no doubt in my mind that this old soul is going to make it quite far in this business.

Suffice to say, I left that night both full of liquor and soul. You can catch Dylan Bishop and his band every Tuesday night at C-Boys, but he also performs at many other venues in this city such as Antone’s and The Continental Club. To learn more about him and his music, or to find out where he’s going to be playing on any given night, feel free to visit his website at www.dylanbishopblues.com.

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Triple Z Sightings Around Austin

By Matthew Meade

Triple Z Sightings Around Austin

For a rather large city, Austin can sometimes feel quite small depending on your day to day routine. By the time you get yourself out of work, it can be a chore to simply find something to eat before you crash into bed awaiting the next day. But it is normally these types of emotions that drive me to step out of my usual comfort zone and try something new. You never know who or what you might find (FOMO is forever a real thing).

One evening after i leave our fine shop down on South Congress, I decide to go and catch a show at a venue I’ve yet to visit for myself since moving into town. I make my way downtown at an hour where just about everyone is headed in a similar direction. Mind you, it’s Halloween night so I’m greeted by many interesting get ups along the way. Silver Surfer glides by me across the Congress bridge. I’m coerced into a number of pictures with folks who are in egg costumes since I am sporting my usual Bacon ensemble.

The venue is The Belmont, located just West on 6st downtown. Since reopening in 2012, it has become a staple in the area for great local and world renowned acts. On this particular night, I’ve come to see HeartByrne, a Talking Heads tribute band. While making flippy floppy across the dance floor to catch myself a much needed beer, I notice something familiar. A couple visiting from Vancouver, BC, who I had met earlier that day at ZZZ Threadz. Both of them sporting one of our staple embroideries, Sasquatch with a Wristwatch for him and our voluptuous Snake Lady for her. We catch eyes as if we’ve known each other for years and from that point on, the good times kept on rolling. You never know where you might make a new friend, find a new favorite band or even a new favorite beer. On this particular Halloween though, I couldn’t help thinking, “This must be the place”.

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Triple Z at the Continental Church by Matthew Meade

By Matthew Meade

Triple Z at the Continental Church by Matthew Meade

There is never a shortage of things to do in this great city, so it can be hard to ever hone in on just one. Sometimes, however, an event will come up that will take all types of precedent in your life. Commitments will be broken, feelings may get hurt, but you’ll be damned to ever miss it. This happens quite regularly for me, so I’m used to the backlash from just about everyone in my circle.

If you’ve never heard of The Reverend Horton Heat,  then I’m not quite sure what to tell you at this point. Since the late 80’s, Jim Heath and his Dallas, Tx based group have been bringing a special blend of rockabilly beach rock fused with just enough country. When I read that the historic Continental Club would be hosting a 6-night event and converting into the Continental Church of The Reverend, I pounced. I was able to attend two nights of sermons, about 4 less than I would have liked (these bills don’t pay themselves).

The first night was everything I had hoped it would be, but better. I was even lucky enough to meet stand up bassist Jimbo Wallace right before they brought ‘the heat’ into the club and clumsily asked him to stop by our shop if he at all had the time (sporting a kick ass Gorilla vs. Shark pearl snap certainly helped my case). Listening to Jimbo talk to me about getting to tour with groups like The Cramps and Motorhead simply made my mind melt. I even ran into a few loyal ZZZ Threadz patrons inside during their set, each of us locking eyes and performing the ever popular ‘I see you, you see me’ head nod.

As for Jimbo, he came into the shop over that weekend and made his presence felt. I knew his birthday was in just a few days, so I decided to let him pick out any of our bad ass embroidered pearl snaps to make his own. After careful choosing and much deliberation, a decision was made. So if you happen to catch the Reverend Horton Heat at any of their shows across the globe, keep your eyes peeled. You might just catch bassist JIMBO sporting one the finest, most ass-kickingest Posado embroidered pearl snaps you ever did see.

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An Austin Night out with Triple Z Threadz

By Edson Enriquez

An Austin Night out with Triple Z Threadz

Nowadays in Austin, it’s weird if you don’t know people who perform live music regularly. The stand out factors comes down to great band chemistry, a magical sound and knowing how to make a crowd leave wanting more. At Triple Z Threadz, we apply those same principles to our core values and principles in how we approach our products and our clients (kick-ass embroidery teamed with beautiful vintage wear). Folks all over enjoy things that are genuine, things they can relate to in one way or another, no matter the art form. Whenever possible, we like to make an adventure in supporting all the locals (and visitors) we know and love. It’s no exception when the ones headlining are on the same payroll as you.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Bob, the lone gentlemen who works in our sister shop Limbo Jewelry, then you’re just plain missing out. While still being relatively new in town, he certainly hasn’t wasted any time making his mark. When he isn’t slinging assorted styles of bracelets and earrings, you can usually catch him at one of the many venues throughout Austin performing with his sister and their band, The Wilds. Recently, a few of us from the store made a night of going to see them perform.

Right across from the historic (as well as haunted) Driskill Hotel downtown, you’ll find The Firehouse Lounge, which is located at 605 Brazos St. Now at first glance it may just seem like any old hostel, but when you walk into the lobby, the first thing that’ll catch your eye is the sliding bookcase which will lead you inside their infamous bar (no secret handshakes required, only encouraged). The first thing to notice is the intimate booths and tables, which really lend their hand well to the overall atmosphere created inside of this speakeasy. Once you finish choosing the signature cocktail from one of the professionals behind the bar, the overall mood and vibe of the space begins to really take hold. If you happen to arrive hungry, which is usually the case for me, I would have to suggest their “Lieutenant” sandwich. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, they have an array of other tasty bar snack options to choose from. Drink and food in hand, Rachel, Phoebe and I all take our place while the band warms up and does their sound check.

With a refreshing blend of strings, drum and vocals, Bob and The Wilds take control of the room and command nothing less than full attention from the crowd. Now I do spy, with my little eye, one of our signature Scorpion design shirts on their lead guitarist and damn does he make them look good. Track after track, the band melodically mold into what appears to become one entity. By the end of their set, the three of us really have a newfound respect for our friend and coworker, as well as everyone else who performs in the band. Anyone who is a fan of good old rock and roll is doing themselves a disservice by not catching these guys at a show. When we weren’t dancing our asses off, the ladies and I were simply caught with our mouths open and eyes wide. Yes people, they are THAT good.

We may sell tons of fine embroidered crap, but we also specialize in soaking up fine tunes, hard booze, and delicious food.

Till next time,

Matt Meade (resident blogger and drinker of fine beers)

Anyone looking to catch The Wilds at an upcoming show should check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/thewildsarehere

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